Outcome of cognitive-behavioural therapy in training practice with anxiety disorder patients.

Objectives: This study aims to assess the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioural therapy applied by trainee therapists in patients with anxiety disorders seen in a private university service and to examine whether this effectiveness is comparable to that observed in controlled studies.

Design: We compared the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioural therapy at a private centre with that observed in meta-analyses and reviews of controlled studies.

Methods: Out of the 96 initial patients with anxiety disorder, 64 completed the cognitive-behavioural treatment and 59 also answered a series of questionnaires pre- and post-treatment. The effect size of the intervention was calculated, as were the percentages of patients who improved and those who recovered.

Results: The pre-post effect size (1.09) was large, although somewhat lower than those observed in a meta-analysis of Spanish studies and in a range of international meta-analyses; moreover, twice as many hours of treatment were administered (M=27.4) and the drop-out rate was higher (33.3%). The percentages of patients who improved (61%) and those who recovered (52.5%) were roughly comparable to those reported in various reviews of studies performed in anxiety disorders.

Conclusions: Cognitive-behavioural therapy applied by trainee therapists in a private university service appears effective, although this efficacy may be somewhat lower than that in controlled studies. Moreover, the duration of treatment and the drop-out rate may be higher.